Chimney stack moisture collecting and humidifying apparatus



June 20, 1961 v. E. OLSON 2,989,047

CHIMNEY STACK MOISTURE COLLECTING AND HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS Filed March21, 1958 I/' I, k PM i INVENTOR A ORNEY United States Patent G 2,989,047CHIMNEY STACK MOISTURE COLLECTING AND HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS Victor E.Olson, 5348 Riverview Road, Minneapolis 17, Minn. Filed Mar. 21, 1958,Ser. No. 723,028 6 Claims. (Cl. 126-113) This invention relates to animprovement in chimney stack moisture-collecting apparatus and dealsparticularly with a means of collecting condensed moisture andintroducing the moisture into a furnace humidifying apparatus.

Many modern hot air furnaces are provided with humidifying means of onetype or another which often include filters which are moistened by waterand through which the heated air must pass. Many furnaces of the typewhich use gas as a fuel have considerable difiiculty due to moisturecondensing in the chimney stack. If sufficient moisture is condensed inthe chimney stack and if no means is provided for the drainage of thismoisture, considerable damage to the equipment may be experienced. Incertain instances in gas furnace installations, as much as two gallonsof water have been condensed in a single days time in a modern homeinstallation. Unless a drain is readily available into which thismoisture may be emptied, much time and effort is spent in eliminatingthis moisture.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of anapparatus for collecting moisture which is condensed in the chimneystack and in connecting this moisture collecting apparatus to a furnacehumidifier so as to supply moisture thereto. Thus, as the air is heatedby the furnace, moisture is condensed by the heated gases and thismoisture is introduced into the humidifier thus obviating the necessityof providing a drain for the condensate and similarly avoiding thenecessity for a water connection to the humidifier.

A feature of the invention resides in its simplicity and low cost. Inpreferred form the device comprises a shallow receptacle which iscovered by a screen or similar foraminous covering which in turn iscovered by a baffle so that the condensate will not drip directly intothe receptacle but will drain into the receptacle from the surroundingarea.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of adevice of the type described which may be mounted in place by furnacecement or other such material which will recess the base of thereceptacle and provide a natural drainage of moisture into thereceptacle.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention willbe more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification andclaims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view through a portion of the base ofthe chimney stack and through the moisture collecting device showing theconstruction thereof.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the drainagefrom the receptacle may be introduced to the furnace humidifier.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view through a portion of a modified form ofconstruction.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a slightly different arrangement of the elements.

In FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the letter A designates a furnace ingeneral which employs gas as a fuel and which includes a humidifierindicated in general by the numeral 10. As there are a great number ofdifferent types of furnaces and as each furnace employs a different typeof filter arrangement, the figure is merely diagrammatic and is notintended to show any precise arrangement.

Patented June 20, 1961 The spent gases from the furnace A are conveyedby a chimney pipe 11 to the stack 12. The stack 12 normally is providedwith an inner flue or liner 13 through which the smoke and gases extend.It is within this liner 13 that the condensate collects.

The moisture collecting apparatus is indicated in general by the letterB and is normally supported in the elbow 14 at the base of the liner 13.As will be later described in detail, the moisture collecting device Bis connected by a tubular connection 15 to the furnace humidifier 10 sothat the condensate Will be introduced into the humidifier andevaporated into the heated air.

The moisture collecting device B includes a pan shaped receptacle 16having a bottom wall 17 and upwardly inclined surrounding side walls 19which terminate in an outwardly extending flang 20. A cylindrical shell21 eX- tends upwardly from the flange 20 and is secured thereto- Thiscylindrical shell 21 is provided with a series of angularly spacedapertures 22 extending therethrough at the bottom thereof just above thelevel of the flange 20. A screen or perforated plate 23 overlies theflange 20 within the shell 21 and acts to prevent foreign material fromentering the receptacle 17.

An inverted pan shaped top 24 is secured to the upper end of thecylindrical sleeve 21 to form a top closure therefore. The member 24includes a top plate 25 and downwardly and outwardly inclinedsurrounding walls 26 which terminate in an outwardly extending flange27. The member 24 acts as a baflie to prevent Water and foreign materialfrom dropping directly against the screen and into the receptacle.Normally the moisture will drain down the walls of the liner 13 anddirectly into the receptacle so that the member 24 acts mainly as aguard against any foreign material which drops down the liner 13.

As is indicated in FIGURE 1, the receptacle 16 is embedded in a body offurnace cement 29 or the like which is built up on the bottom of theelbow 14 in such a manner as to slope toward the flange 20 of thereceptacle 16 from all directions. Thus, any moisture which enters theelbow will drain into the receptacle 16.

The operation of the apparatus is believed evident from the foregoingdescription. As the heated gas is guided up through the liner 13,condensation will collect on this liner and will drain down the wallsthereof. This moisture is conducted by the cement 29 into the receptacle16 and the moisture from the receptacle is free to drain through thetubular connection 15 and to the furnace humidifier. Thus, not only doesthe water connection act as an automatic drain for the condensation butalso acts as a water supply for the humidifier. In the event the amountof condensate collected is not sufficient to operate the humidifier, itmay be supplemented by an additional water supply. However, in anyevent, condensation does not collect unless the furnace is in operationand when the furnace is in operation it requires water in the humidifierand, while a drain is not always readily available near the chimneystack, the furnace is always nearby and can accommodate the watercondensed.

In order to simplify the installation, the tubular connection 15 mayinclude a connecting member 28 of flexible material which serves as aconnection between the main portion of the connection 15 and the endportion 15 thereof which extends into the bottom of the receptacle 16.

In FIGURE 3 a substantially identical device is partially illustrated,differing from the original only in the fact that the top member isremovable and foldable so that it can be readily inserted into a flueliner already installed. The device C includes a cylindrical shell 31which corresponds to the shell 21 previously described. The top 32comprises a plate top 33 and downwardly and outwardly inclined walls 34which terminate in an outwardly extending flange 35. The entire top isdiametrically split as at 36, and the two halves connected by hinges 37.As a result, the two halves of the top can be centrally folded asindicated in dotted outline.

The top 32 rests upon the shell 31 by gravity. Angularly spaced clips 39on the top engage the upper portion of the shell 31 to hold the topcentered relative to the shell. This arrangement is of advantage whenthe device is inserted after the flue has been installed. The reducingfitting 40 usually used to connect the elbow 14 to the chimney pipe 11is removed and the body of the apparatus may be inserted and partiallyembedded in cement. The top can then be inserted while folded, can beunfolded while in the elbow 14, and placed on the top of the shell 31.

In order to simplify the insertion of the apparatus, the flange or rim20 is extended beyond the periphery of the shell 21 and is provided witha down turned peripheral flange 41. This arrangement simplifies thesmoothing of the cement 29 about the shell and insures a tightperipheral seal.

The foregoing description shows an arrangement where the flue liner canextend the full height of the chimney or may be discontinued above thelevel of the chimney pipe 11. In FIGURE 4, the smoke pipe 11 isconnectedto a T-connection 43, with the upper leg 44 of the connection connectedto a flue liner 45 extending the full height of the chimney. Themoisture collecting device B is positioned below the chimney pipe 11 inthe lower leg 46 of the connection or in a continuation thereof. Thedevice B is supported above the level of the humidifier so that theconnection may still deliver moisture to the humidifier by gravity. Thelower portion of the device B is held in place in the manner previouslydescribed, as by the furnace cement 29.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principlesof construction and operation of my improvement in chimney stackmoisture collectingapparatus, and While I have endeavored to set forththe best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood thatchanges may be made within the scope of the following claims withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In combination with a hot air furnace having a humidifier located inthe heated air zone thereof, a horizontal flue leading from the furnacethrough which the spent gases may pass, a chimney having a verticalstack liner disposed therein, an elbow member connected between thehorizontal flue and the vertical stack liner for conducting the gasesfrom said flue into said liner, a collecting means for condensedmoisture, means supporting the moisture collecting means at the bottomof said liner and within said elbow member, and a conduit connectingsaid moisture collecting means and said humidifier to direct thecondensed moisture to the humidifier.

2. The structure described in claim 1 and including slopingv meansencircling the moisture collecting means for directing condensedmoisture into said moisture collecting means.

3. The construction described in claim 1 and in which said moisturecollecting means includes a shallow receptacle into which moisture candrain, and baflle means supported over said receptacle to prevent thedropping of foreign material into the receptacle.

4. The construction described in claim 1 and in which said moisturecollecting means includes a shallow receptacle and including aforaminous member overlying said receptacle.

5. The construction described in claim 3 and including means embeddingsaid shallow receptacle and having a concave upper surface drainingtoward said receptacle,

6. The structure of claim 3 and in which said baffle means is ofsubstantially greater dimensions than said receptacle so as to overhangsame, and including means whereby said baflle means may be collapsed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS576,838 Dulier Feb. 9, 1897 941,841 Ahlen et a1 Nov. 30, 1909 1,048,532Helander Dec. 31, 1912 1,093,103 Jackson et al Apr. 14, 1914 1,123,232Brassert et a1. Ian. 5, 1915 1,170,658 Mitchell Feb. 8, 1916 1,840,628Howle Jan, 12, 1932 1,890,930 Blackmore Dec. 13, 1932 2,614,514Martindale et a1 Oct. 21, 1952

